Liquor store donating bears to local charities

The Fort St. John provincial liquor store is hoping to come out on top once again with the ‘Share a Bear’ program.

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For 21 years, B.C. liquor stores have been selling teddy bears to customers and for each bear sold another is donated to a local charity. The bears go on sale after Remembrance Day and are sold until closing on Christmas Eve.

The liquor store in Fort St. John has been the top selling store in the province for the past seven years, says Warren Mears, senior manager of the B.C. liquor store in Fort St. John.

Mears says for each of the past three years the store has sold 2,400 bears, which he attributes to the community’s huge spirit and giving nature.

As a new addition this year, the liquor store is teaming up with the local hockey organization to sell bears in advance of the Flyers game on Saturday. A booth will be set up to sell bears to fans to throw on the ice after the team scores its first goal.

Mears says the bears are in high demand and some of the charities receiving the bears this year include the Child Development Centre, the Salvation Army, the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation, the RCMP Victim Services program and the North Peace Pregnancy Care Centre.

With just two weeks left until Christmas, the liquor store has sold more than 1,200 bears – just over half of the total number it has – but Mears says there has never been a single bear left in the store by Christmas.

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